It Can't Get Worse
by WinglessBird
Summary: Gibbs and Tony are lost, but that's the least of their worries. Is Gibbs there when Tony needs him most?


"Oh dear God. The almighty Leroy Jethro Gibbs is lost. We're doomed. We are all doomed."

"Shut it DiNozzo," Gibbs barked, "We're not lost. I know where we're heading."

"We've been driving around for over two hours and I think I've seen that tree three times now. We're going in circles Boss. I'm just saying, don't get irritated with me later when the car dies and we end up in the middle of nowhere." He paused briefly before continuing, "And to think… all this to simply talk to a witness."

Gibbs rolled his eyes at Tony and continued driving on the deserted road. He didn't know if you could even classify it as a road. He hated it when Tony was right. They _were_ lost but he wasn't going to admit to that anytime soon. To top it all off, it was starting to rain- making it even more difficult to drive.

"Hey Boss, why can't we ask Abby or McGee to trace us and give us directions?" Tony asked.

"Why don't you stop talking and actually try that DiNozzo."

"You know, I think it's time for you to find a nice lady. She can help you release that pent up tension inside you. All this pressure on your shoulders must not be too good for a man your age." Tony paled and quickly realized what he said, "Wait… no, that's not what I meant. It's not that your old boss. Yea, you're older than me but not _old_ old." Before he could dig himself any deeper, he stopped what he was saying and dialed McGee's number. "I'll just shut up now and call McGee."

Tony held the phone up to his ear and waited. Gibbs noticed Tony's grimace and suddenly dreaded the news he was about to hear.

"Umm, Boss. I hate to break it to you, but I'm not getting any signal. All I keep getting is that irritating beeping noise. Where did you end up taking us? Oh no. This is how I'm going to die. Lost, in the middle of nowhere and stuck in a car with Gibbs. No offense Boss." Gibbs gave a short grunt, which to Tony was as much as forgiveness as he was going to get.

"And no food. No food," Tony repeated. "Why? What have I ever done to deserve this? Don't answer that."

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs snapped. "This isn't the end of the world. Let's just turn around and retrace our steps. It's not like it can get any worse," he mumbled.

Suddenly, the car backfired and juddered to a stop.

"You jinxed it Boss!" Tony cried, "You know it's an unwritten rule to never say that it can't get worse. Now we have no car, no food, no signal and it's raining." He pouted and pushed back against his seat.

Gibbs sighed heavily. Tony was right; they were in serious trouble. Before he was able to look around for a solution, Tony zipped up his jacket and opened the door.

"I'm just going to run around and look for a signal. I won't be long," Tony spoke loudly over the wind.

Gibbs watched Tony run around for few minutes with his phone tucked within his jacket sleeve so that it wouldn't get wet. Gibbs thought about the past few weeks and how his senior field agent was starting to worry him lately. His jokes and teasing with the rest of the team didn't alter, but Gibbs was noticing subtle changes with Tony. The dark smudges under his eyes were his greatest concern. If the agent wasn't getting enough sleep, then something must really be bothering him. The lead agent was hoping to talk to his protégé but the new case came along and he temporarily forgot about it. Gibbs was so deep into his musing that he almost missed the slamming of the passenger door. Tony was soaked. He shivered before shaking his head, getting most of the rain out of his hair and onto the seat.

"Wooh!" Tony exclaimed. "The rain is really pouring, isn't it? Anyway, that was pretty much useless. I couldn't get a signal anywhere. I headed up that hill," he pointed to the one on his right "and besides, I could barely see anything ahead of me from the rain. I'll just wait 'till the rain calms down a bit. Did you try your phone Boss?" Tony turned to his left and stared at Gibbs. But to his surprise, Gibbs was simply watching at him with a blank look on his face.

"What?" Tony asked worriedly, "Did I do something wrong?"

"You know you can talk to me, right Tony?" Gibbs replied softly.

The soft tone and use of his first name worried Tony. "I don't know what you're talking about Gibbs, but you're kind of scaring me here," Tony responded with a weak smile.

"I haven't been liking the smudges under your eyes. You sleeping okay?" Gibbs asked.

"Why are you suddenly asking me out of nowhere Boss? And I'm sleeping fine, thank you." Tony took of his wet jacket and threw it onto the back seat. It was starting to get really cold, too. Gibbs took note of the shivering, took off his jacket and tossed it into Tony's lap.

"I'm fine. I don't need your jacket."

"Just take it, DiNozzo. At least I'm dry." Gibbs hoped the field agent would get comfortable enough to talk.

"Thanks." Tony replied softly. He looked out his window on the right. "I'm not sick or anything, if you're worried about that. I'm just… I don't know."

Gibbs didn't say anything. He was afraid of saying something that ended up going the wrong way; his agent wouldn't say anything for the rest of the night. They remained silent for a few minutes. The rain was still pounding on the car, though. It seemed peaceful somehow, but he understood the turmoil Tony was probably going through at the moment. They unrelenting silence continued until Tony spoke up once again.

"Is this it Boss?" He asked, sparing a quick glance towards his mentor. Tony played with the sleeve of Gibbs' jacket before looking out the window again. "I mean… day in and day out it's the same thing. None of us really has a close family other than the team. Look at me. I don't have a wife. I don't have kids. I do the same thing every day. We see innocent people dying- kids dying and I just hate it that they had their lives in front of them and I'm not doing anything with mine."

The mention of a wife and kids tugged at Gibbs' heart. It hurt him to see a man, as close to a son he'll ever get, suffer like this though. The kid was at breaking point.

"Tony, you've helped save hundreds of lives. You-"

"I know that Gibbs," Tony cut him off. "I love my job Boss, but I just… I just can't. Sometimes, I feel alienated from it. I'm not one-piece Boss, and that scares me. I don't know where to go from here. I want to move on but I don't. Sorry," he look at Gibbs, "I'm not really making sense, am I Boss?"

"Rule six Tony. Bet I get you." Gibbs replied, "It's too much and sometimes it just crashes all over you. You're not alone though. You're never alone. I'm always here for you. Heck, the whole team is here." He looked directly at Tony, "You ever feel stressed out, tired or just sick of it, you come to me; even if it's in the middle of the night."

Tony stared wide-eyed at Gibbs, "Have I ever told you that you frighten me when you say more than two words in one sitting?"

Gibbs granted him a small smile before opening his door, "It looks like the rain is slowing down. I'll try for a signal this time."

Tony grinned weakly. He watched as Gibbs walked away from the car, holding his phone above head. He appreciated what his boss said. He knew Gibbs was always there for him but the reconfirmation helped. He was still tired though. Tired of it all. Too much death and not enough love was getting to him. Maybe he needed a vacation; some time off would help. He looked towards Gibbs again. It looked like he might have actually received a signal, as he seemed to be talking through the phone. Gibbs opened his door and stepped into the car.

"I talked to McGee but he said that it will take some time for them to get to us; about an hour. Take a nap or something, I'll be on the look out."

"Thanks Boss," whispered Tony as he snuggled into his seat and turned his head towards the window. The unspoken _for everything _was not required.

As Tony napped, Gibbs noticed that he was still shivering. He grabbed the jacket that was sprayed over Tony's lap and tucked it around the agent's upper body. He didn't need any illness to further add to his worry. As he waited for the rest of the team, Gibbs thought about what he and Tony talked about. He just wished that Tony were more open than what so many people believed. He turned to look towards the Italian. The younger agent was sleeping restlessly and had a scowl on his face. The obvious pain the younger man was suffering through burned a hole through Gibbs' heart. He needed to talk to Tony now more than ever. He hoped he wasn't too late.

* * *

After exactly one hour and thirteen minutes, Gibbs saw a car approaching from a distance. He shook Tony awake.

"Come on DiNozzo, the crew is here." Gibbs all but yelled, "Wouldn't want them to see you napping on the job, would you?"

"I'm up, I'm up. Jeez Boss, you kind of suck at waking people up, you know that?"

"Yeah yeah, let's just go Tony."

Ziva was driving the navy blue Charger with McGee as the passenger. A pick-up truck was following them. Together they parked near Gibbs' car as both men got out of the vehicle.

"About time Ziva. What took you guys so long?" Tony teased.

"We would have gotten here quicker if McGee had let me drive from the beginning." Ziva grumbled.

"She threatened me on our way here with a stapler. With a stapler. Where did she find a stapler in the car?" McGee said in awe to Tony.

"All of you- shut it," groused Gibbs. "I'll be driving back. Tony, Ziva with me. McGee, you're sticking with the trucker."

The agents split up and prepared to head back to the city.

* * *

It was dark when they finally got back to town. Gibbs drove to the navy yard to return the vehicle while the rest of the team went to the garage and picked up their cars.

While the lead agent walked to his car, his phone started to ring.

"Gibbs," he grumped into the phone.

"Hey Gibbs," Tony replied. "I-I just wanted to thank you for today." He said in a rush.

Gibbs sighed. _Leave it to Tony to thank him for doing any other friend would do_. "You don't have to thank me Tony. I told you; I've got your back. Anytime, any day."

"I know Boss, but I really appreciate it," Tony whispered, "I guess I just wanted you to know. I haven't really been in a good place for some time now."

"I know, Tony. Get some rest," Gibbs replied before he hung up.

On his way home, Gibbs picked up a six-pack of beer and some Chinese food. Instead of going to his house, though, he drove to Tony's.

Gibbs knocked instead of barging into Tony's home as usual. His senior field agent opened the door wearing nothing but pajama pants.

"I knew you'd come. You're just a sweetie at heart, aren't you Gibbs. You coming on to me, Boss? I always knew you had a little something for me."

Gibbs smiled as he pushed Tony aside and stepped into the apartment. He placed the bag of Chinese food and the drinks on the coffee table in the middle of the living room. He sat on the couch and grabbed two beers.

"Here," he tossed one to Tony. "Let's talk."

"Talk?" Tony asked, "You, mister- I don't say more than five words a week, want to talk? I'm thinking I'll be the one talking and you'll be listening. But unlike you, Boss, I like to talk every once in a while."

They were silent for a few minutes though. Both men enjoyed the quiet. It gave them a chance to just relax and not think of about anything. They began to eat and once Tony started talking, talk he did. He spoke of the senseless murders giving him nightmares everyday for the last few weeks. He spoke of his loneliness. He spoke of how sick he was of playing the happy-go-lucky man. He wanted time off. He wanted help. He wanted a family. He didn't know what he want.

"Sorry," whispered Tony softly, "I'm just dumping this on you while you must have your own troubles."

Gibbs raised his hand, which made Tony to wince in anticipation of the head slap he was surely going to receive. To his surprise, Gibbs lightly patted his head.

"Ah, Tony. This might shock you, but I like this. I enjoy listening to you and drinking a beer with you every now and then. Don't think I never listen to you." Gibbs paused. He needed to say it, "I'm afraid of losing you son."

Tony smiled shyly, "I love you too, Boss."

Gibbs got up and stretched his tense muscles. "I've got your six Tony- always." He patted Tony's shoulder and walked out of the apartment.

Tony stared at the closed door his boss recently walked through. He dropped his head back against the couch and gazed at the ceiling. The agent was sure the nightmares weren't simply going to disappear but his boss was there to help him get through this breakdown. He smiled again.

"I love you too," he whispered.

* * *

**Thank you for reading! I know it's kind of pointless but reminding your friends and family that you're always there for them every once in a while, does more good than one might think. :) Sorry for any mistakes (they are all mine) and sadly NCIS does not belong to me. Please review. **


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